Three perspectives on sustainable business growth

LAB’s key competences lay a collaborative foundation for the renewal, development, and growth of companies. We aim to support responsible, sustainable, and regenerative growth in companies, enhancing regional vitality and well-being. We make an impact by rethinking the world of work: we help businesses in their renewal and internationalisation, all the while creating new jobs for which we educate top future talents. 

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) steer the LAB University of Applied Sciences towards a more sustainable future. We apply SDGs of strategic importance to us in our collaboration with businesses, in education, research, development, and innovation (RDI), and in daily activities on our campuses. The choices we make ensure we promote sustainability and solutions that support it. 

Multipurpose materials lead to a competitive edge and new markets

With its systemic expertise in the circular economy, LAB helps companies take advantage of opportunities for sustainable growth in a complex world. Business solutions leading to sustainable and profitable growth are needed in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. The sustainable and efficient use of natural resources requires the recycling of materials and the wide-ranging utilisation of side streams. LAB supports this through both research collaboration and laboratory and expert services.

For example, we help companies take advantage of opportunities provided by the circular economy and create sustainable innovations. Our key strength lies in RDI related to multipurpose materials, which involves studying and testing various recovered and recycled materials and collaborating with companies to build new solutions for markets. 

We also study and develop sustainable food production from plant-based raw materials based on strong ecosystem thinking. The Food Pilot Plant on our Lahti campus is a product development environment where companies can develop and innovate plant-based food products together with our experts.

→ Read more about multipurpose materials and our services.

Intangible value creation supports innovation and commercialisation

LAB's experts in intangible value creation support businesses throughout the innovation process, from its very beginnings to the commercialisation of research and development outcomes. Bold innovation not only promotes international growth – it can also produce added value for customers.

Intangible value creation refers to business activities where value to the customer is generated by means other than physical products, such as experiences, emotions, impressions, or more extensive phenomena. LAB partners with businesses in intangible value creation by providing expertise in strategic design, foresight, and commercialisation, enabling businesses to focus on creating higher added value products and solutions that Finland needs. 

For instance, we help companies develop products, services, brands, and business models that create value for people and the planet. LAB’s strategic expertise in design and futures thinking offers companies insights into intangible value creation opportunities. Sustainable innovations born on campus spread nationally and internationally through research collaboration, companies, and our graduates.

→ Learn more about intangible value creation and our services.

Human well-being leads to thriving communities 

Human health and well-being are associated with a range of global problems that also concern Finland at the national level. Our approach to these problems is human-centred, and we contribute to solving them by promoting well-being in individuals and communities, health, and diversity in society. We believe that healthy and thriving individuals build evolving communities. That, in turn, makes it easier to respond to the needs of a changing society. LAB focuses especially on research and development involving individual and community well-being.

We partner with the health and well-being sector in developing technology-based solutions that promote people’s activity, functional capacity, and safety. We apply different technologies, artificial intelligence, and data in building functional service chains with our partners. We couple different sectors and develop solutions that promote a sense of community. We also study diversity in the world of work and help develop solutions for workplace well-being.

Nursing professionals who graduate from the LAB University of Applied Sciences are equipped to promote equality between customers and in work communities and to improve sustainability in their field. By helping to create new jobs in the care sector, we also enable future experts to apply the most recent research-based knowledge in their field. We consider it important to develop the care sector in a way that takes safety, customers, and users into consideration in the sector's digitalisation and efficient service chains.

→ Read more about human well-being and our services for companies.